International Law Prof Blog

New Book: Transnational Legal Processes and Human Rights

Ashgate Publishing is about to release "Transnational Legal Processes and Human Rights."  The book was edited by Kryiaki Topidi and Lauren Fielder (both of the University of Lucerne Faculty of Law in Switzerland).  Dr. Topidi teaches courses and researches on religious rights and has a research background in minority protection and EU law.  Professor Fielder teaches African Law, Protection of Vulnerable Groups, and Transnational Litigation at the University of Lucerne, where she is the assistant director of the Transnational Legal Studies Program. She writes and speaks about human rights issues in Africa. 

There are twelve chapters on the topic, including these:

• Ruth Hargrove (California Western School of Law) and Roberta Thyfault (California Western School of Law), The Impact of, and Resistance to, the Use of Foreign Law on Juvenile Punishment in the United States
• Mark E. Wojcik (The John Marshall Law School-Chicago), Legislative Attempts to Prohibit the Use of International Law and Islamic Law in U.S. Courts
• Lauren Fielder (University of Lucerne Faculty of Law), African Courts and African Values: Harmonizing International Human RIghts and Customary Law
• Kyriaki Topidi (University of Lucerne Faculty of Law), Exercising Religious Rights in European Classrooms: Value Conflicts between the National, the Supranational, and the Transnational
• Ehsanul Haque, Universal Human Rights and Cultural Relativity: Conflict or Reconciliation?
• Angelica Anatolie Tsarkiridis, Corporate Responsibility and Human Rights in the Context of an International Constitutional Legal Framework
• Ali Abid, Combating Religious Defamation: An Exploration of Blasphemy in Islamic Thought and International Practice

Get more information about the book by clicking here.

(mew) 

ABA Publishes a New Edition of its Book on Careers in International Law

The American Bar Association Section of International Law has published a new edition of one of its most popular titles, Careers in International Law.

Jeff Golden (in photo, on right) and I are two of the contributing authors.

Mark E. Wojcik (mew)

Cyber Monday - ABA Section of International Law Books on Sale

It's "Cyber Monday" in the United States (and elsewhere), a day when many retailers offer generous one-day discounts for electronic shopping.  The American Bar Association Section of International Law has joined in with 40% off of its titles.  Use the code "CYBER12" to Save 40% on International Law Books at the ABA webstore.  You get a further discount if you are a member of the ABA Section of International Law.

New titles of possible interest for you include

• Careers in International Law (4th edition)
• The ABA Guide to Internaitonal Bar Admissions
• The Unofficial Guide to Legal Studies in the U.S. for Foreign Lawyers

(mew)

New Books Noted: International Trade in Indigenous Cultural Heritage

Three years of thoughtful work have finally culminated in a new book on "International Trade in Idigenous Cultural Hertiage: Legal and Policy Issues."  The book is about to be published by Edward Elgar Publishing (United Kingdom).  The book examines how international law can better contribute to promoting trade and development in indigenous cultural heritage while at the same time respecting indigenous people's values, traditions, and rights. 

The book is edited by Christoph B. Graber, Karolina Kuprecht, and Jessica C. Lai, all members of i-call, the Research Centre for Communication and Art Law at the University of Lucerne (Switzerland). Authors include Christoph Antons, Francesco Bandarin, Catherine Bell, Kathey Bowrey, Duane Champagne, Paul L.A.H. Chartrand, Rosemary Coombe, Susy Frankel, Martin Girsberger, Carole Goldberg, Christoph Graber, Karolina Kuprecht, Jessica C. Lai, Federico Lenzerini, Fiona Macmillan, Benny Müller, John Scott, Kurt Siehr, Rebecca Tsosie, Joseph Turcotte, and Brigtte Vézina. 

Because I have had the chance to hear Professor Graber lecture on the topic, and because of my own personal interest in the protection of traditional knowledge and culture, I have very high expectations for the quality of the book.  And I'm not disappointed with what I've been able to see so far -- this is an outstanding piece of work that is both a useful reference work as well as providing thoughtful commentary on the global difficulties with protecting traditional knowledge.  And it is rare to find a book so deeply devoted to transdisciplinary research methodology.

The 17 chapters in the book includes international law perspectives, methodology, and social context, as well as country reports on the protection of cultural heritage in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.  I'm looking forward to spending some significant time with the book.  The publication launch date is set for January 30, 2013 for the United States and a bit earlier (November 30, 2012) for the United Kingdom and the rest of the world.  You can, of course, pre-order a copy now for your personal or institutional library.  It is 509 pages (including the index).  

Mark E. Wojcik (mew)

Books We Really, Really, Really Like: Return of an Old Friend -- Comfort Food for International Lawyers -- A New Edition of Brierly's Law of Nations

It's small enough to fit in your coat pocket.  

You can carry it with you in the winter months.  

You can pull it out when you need the international lawyers' equivalent of comfort food.  

It's a new edition of Brierly's Law of Nations, prepared by Andrew Clapham and published by Oxford University Press.  

And it's wonderful.

The book first appeared in 1928 and it attracted a wide readership of lawyers and non-lawyers alike.  Over the years, new editions became a standard reference work and introduction to international law.  

The last edition was published in 1963.  This new, seventh edition is the first revision of the book in almost 50 years.  It was revised by Andrew Clapham, a Professor of Public International Law at the Graduate Institute of International Law and Development Studies in Geneva and Director of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights.  He's updated the book in innovative ways, sometimes taking passages from Brierly's other work.  He also focused more on Brierly's fifth edition, rather than the 1963 edition revised by Sir Humphrey Waldock.  Professor Clapham has updated the work with references to recent treaties, tribunal decisions, and international law scholarship.  He has made revisions with a view of keeping the easy readability of this treasure.

The revised edition is available in hardback and paperback.  It's just over 500 pages of text, easy to read in both the style of prose and in the typesetting of the book.  You do want a copy of this.  You know you do.  This would make a great holiday gift for your favorite international lawyer too, and we just can't say that about most law books.  Grab a hot cup of tea, build a warm fire, and enjoy some time with a classic text on international law.

The ISBN number for the hardback edition is 978-0-19-965793-3.  The ISBN number for the paperback edition is 978-0-19-965794-0.  The publisher is Oxford University Press.

Mark E. Wojcik (mew)

Books We Like: Climate Change, Forced Migration, and International Law

Dr. Jane McAdam is a professor on the Faculty of Law at the the University of New South Wales.  She is recognized as an international expert in the field of refugee law.  Much of her recent work focuses on issues of refugees and international climate change.  For example, you can see one of her lectures by clicking here.  She has written a new book called "Climate Change, Forced Migration, and International Law," published by Oxford University Press.

The book examines whether States have obligations to protect people displaced by climate change under international law, including international refugee law, international human rights law, and the international law on statelessness.  She examines the nature of displacement, the "importance of context," and the "invisibility" of climate-change related migration.  She considers closely contemporary applications of treaties such as the 1951 Refugee Convention as well as the relevance of regional refugee instruments.  Using field work from Asia and some Pacific islands, she considers a number of issues relating to climate change in relation to other factors traditionally associated with migration.  She examines specific international human rights including the right to life, the right to be free of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and other human rights that "may give rise to complementary protection." She considers problems of "disappearing states" and relocation.  She also examines the "Climate Refugee Treaty Debate" and political obstacles to a new treaty on that subject.

In addition to its well-written analysis and commentary, the book includes great resources such as the list of applicable treaties and other international instruments and the list of applicable national legilsation from such countries as widespread as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, FInaland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Niue, Ireland, and South Africa.  An interesting appendix lists countries around the world that make reference to migration and relocation as an adaptation strategy in national programs of action.  The 47 countries included there include range from Afghanistan to Zaire.  And the bibliography is a treasure trove for anyone doing research on issues of international law, climate change, and forced migration.

This book is a welcome addition to the legal literature on the future of our planet.  The book is published by Oxford University Press.  The ISBN Number is 978-0-19-958708-7.

(mew)

 

 

 

Islamic Finance Contracts

The American Bar Association Section of International Law (which holds its Fall Meeting this week in Miami) has just published "The ABA Practical Guide to Drafting Basic Islamic Finance Contracts."  The author is Dena H. Elkhatib, a U.S. lawyer who is now working in the United Arab Emirates.  She is also the author of several articles that help explain Islamic finance to audiences who are unfamiliar with technical terms such as fiqh, sukuk, and murabaha.

The book includes an overview of Islamic finance and information about its place in the current global financial markets.  It also discusses various types of Islamic finance contracts and how they are structured.  The appendix to the book includes helpful charts that make it easy for readers to tell the difference between various finance contracts.

Ms. Elkhatib is a graduate of The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, where she was the Student Body President.  She became active in the ABA Section of International Law and presently serves as Co-Chair of the ABA International Law Section's Islamic Finance Committee.  

The ISBN Number for "The ABA Practical Guide to Drafting Basic Islamic Finance Contracts" is 978-1-61438-619-3.

(mew)

Books We Really Like: A New Commentary on the Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties

A year ago we told you about a book by two professors from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Olivier Corten and Pierre Klein, who have published a two-volume set of commentary on the 1969 and the 1986 Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties, two of the most important instruments in the international legal order. We're still enthusiastic about the book.

This commentary set (available from Oxford University Press) provides an article-by-article analysis of the VCLT and will be very helpful to scholars, advocates, and jurists who must analyze specific provisions of the Convention.  This must be the definitive reference work for these two conventions. 

More than 100 distinguished authors from twenty different countries contributed different chapters of the book, which compares the 1969 and 1986 conventions article by article.  I'm not going to list all of the contributing authors here, but they include:  

• Mohammed Bedjaoui (former Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs)
• Peter Kovacs (Judge of the Hungarian Constitutional Court)
• Gerard Niyungeko (Judge at the African Court on Human and People's Rights)
• Philippe Sands (Professor of Law, Univesity College, London)
• William Schabas (Professor, National University of Ireland) 
• Bruno Simma (Judge of the International Court of Justice)

This is a serious reference book (more than two thousand pages long!) that includes extensive bibliographies for each article, scholarly commentary, and valuable case citations.  Click here for more information about the book. 

Congratulations again to Professors Corten and Klein and to each of the contributing authors.

(mew)

New Books of Interest: Educating European Lawyers

A.W. Heringa and B. Akkermans are the editors of a new book on "Educating European Lawyers."  I've only seen the flier for it and not the book itself, but it seems to be of interest to some readers of our blog.  It sells for 54 Euros, 51 GB Pounds, or $76 US Dollars, and it's a paperback of approximately 263 pages.  The flier promoting the book says that it considers developments in European legal education.  It's published by Intersentia.  The ISBN Number is 978-1-78068-018-7.  If you want to send us a review of the book, we can post it here for our blog readers. 

(mew)

Bouvier Law Dictionary

"The world of law is a world of words."  So says Stephen Michael Shepard, a professor of International Law, Environmental Law, and several other subjects at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville.  Professor Shepard has lectured or presented in China, England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, and Sweden.  But for the past six or seven years (at least), he's been busy working as the general editor of a new edition of the Bouvier Law Dictionary, recently published by Wolters Kluwer.

The new work brings back to life the American law dictionary first published in 1839 by John Bouvier.  I'm not a Bouvier scholar by any means, but I can at least let you read part of the wikipedia entry about John Bouvier so that you can appreciate the importance of this law dictionary: 

John Bouvier (1787–1851) was born in Codogno, France, but came to the United States at an early age. He became a U.S. citizen in 1812, was admitted to the bar in 1818, and began practicing law in Philadelphia. During his years of practice and study, he noticed the lack of a solid American law dictionary. He decided to fill this need, and worked on a new law dictionary incessantly for 10 years. One of his main goals was to distinguish American law from its Englishantecedent. He finally presented it for publication in 1839. Like many of his generation, Bouvier used his preface to justify his work, stating the irrelevance of English legal dictionaries to the American legal system of the United States. He wanted to create a totally new law dictionary that would address the American legal system, so he derived his definitions almost wholly from customs, court decisions, and statutes of the United States.

So that's the book that Professor Sheppard has now updated.  The Bouvier Law Dictionary was the one used by Daniel Webster, Abraham Lincoln, John Marshall, Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes, and all of the other great early American jurists and lawyers.

This new edition of the Bouvier Law Dictionary was well received at the annual meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, where Professor Sheppard kindly signed a copy for me.  Actually the new dictionary is being published in three versions, a desk edition, the compact paperback version, and an electronic version.

John Bouvier drew on material for his first dictionary from all of the sources that influenced American law.  This new edition of the Bouvier Law Dictionary "is an entirely new book, with new definitions for every term, based on quotations and entries from tens of thousands of new cases, books, and statutes, as well as on Bouvier's final text and other classic materials."  (Preface, at page ix).  I had to laugh at Professor Sheppard's acknowledgment page, where he thanked his student research assistants by saying that his "sincere thanks go to each of you, and I remind all of you who haven't returned some of my books that is never too late to do so."

The dictionary entries are easy to read and often provide a little more information about particular legal terms than you might find in other dictionaries.  We will still use our other law dictionaries, but we now have a second source that we'll also consult.

The ISBN Number for the Compact Paperback Edition of the Bouvier Law Dictionary is 978-0-7355-6852-5.

Mark E. Wojcik (mew)

Books We Like: Human Rights in Times of Conflict and Terrorism

Louise Doswald-Beck, Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in Switzerland, has published a new book on Human Rights in Times of Conflict and Terrorism (Oxford University Press 2011). 

The book is a guide to international human rights and humanitarian law as applied to situations of armed conflict, counter-terrorism measures, and other violent situations that endanger fundamental human rights (such as as the right to life, prohibitions on torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, and other fundamental rights). Professor Doswald-Beck was previously a legal adviser at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and became Head of the Legal Division in 1998.  She brings her knowledge and experience from her work at ICRC in a highly practical text on a difficult legal and political issue.

The book begins by reviewing the "Overarching Elements" such as the application of human rights law during both peace and armed conflict, the international law instruments that create obligations to ensure and implement human rights, the right to a remedy for violations of rights, and the regime of limitations and derogations.  Her treatment of the subject is scholarly, thorough, and impressive.  It focuses deeply on the substantive law and assumes a basic understanding of the procedures of human rights bodies.  There are extensive citations to decisions of human rights tribunals and to primary source documents.

The second part of her book deals with "Absolute Prohibitions" including: the prohibition of the arbitrary deprivation of life; the prohibition on the use of torture, inhuman, or degrading treatment; and the prohibition of enforced disappearances.  That is followed by parts on "Fundamental Requirements of Due Process," "Limitations to Freedoms," and "Protection of Vulnerable and Disadvantaged Populations."  

This book (at 550 pages) would be a useful reference work for any human rights collection.  It would be a good practitioner guide and would also be an excellent textbook for a graduate course in international human rights law.  And although this book focuses on the application of human rights law in times of violence, it also shows how human rights are to be protected at all times.  This book is a direct response to the damage done to human rights and international law over the last decade in the name of combatting terrorism and protecting national security.

Click here for more information about the book.

Mark E. Wojcik

Books We Like: A New Casebook on U.S. Customs Law

Carolina Academic Press seems to be the only major legal publisher in the United States that keeps its law school textbooks reasonably priced.  (OK, I am probably biased because they published one of my books, but that's the one of the main reasons that I picked them as a publisher.)  Carolina Academic Press is also aren't afraid to branch out into new courses not covered by other publishers.  We have a new example of that here with a new law school textbook on U.S. Customs law, authored by Damon Pike and Larry Friedman, two customs attorneys (both of whom, like me, were former law clerks at the U.S. Court of International Trade).  The subject is not yet taught at most U.S. law schools, in part because there hasn't been a book for professors to use.  Here's a description of this new customs law book from the Carolina Academic Press website:

As the world’s largest economy, the Unites States imports and exports more merchandise than any other country. Customs Law covers the “nuts and bolts” of laws administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), the agency charged with regulating imports into the U.S. and collecting duties, import fees, and related taxes. Those laws and regulations center on the tariff classification of merchandise under the Harmonized System (as set forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S.), the valuation of goods under the GATT (now WTO) Valuation Agreement, and the rules (both preferential and non-preferential) for determining “country of origin.” The book also covers the entry and recordkeeping process for imports, intellectual property protection, CBP’s penalty regime, the use of preferential trade programs (specifically examining the North American Free Trade Agreement and its attendant Rules of Origin and Regional Value Content calculations), marking requirements, and the relationship of income tax transfer pricing rules in determining how inter-company pricing impacts declared customs values and, thus, global corporate income taxes. The system of judicial review by the U.S. Court of International Trade and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is also covered.  Finally, the book summarizes the requirements of 47 other federal agencies that CBP is charged with administering and enforcing with respect to imported merchandise.

Although this book was designed as a law school text, it is likely a useful title for customs and international trade attorneys to have (and not just attorneys in the United States).  And while other legal publishers have gone through the roof on pricing their books, this one is only $95.00 (and you can get a 10% discount off of that by going directly to the Carolina Academic Press website to order a copy).  And if you're doing any last minute cyber shopping, this is likely a good text to recommend to customs brokers and CBP import specialists too!

Congratulations to Damon, Larry, and CAP on the new book.  You can click here to see the table of contents.

(mew)

New Books Noted -- The Cambridge Companion to International Law

I am happy to see the James Crawford (University of Cambridge) and Martti Koskenniemi (University of Helsinki) are preparing "The Cambridge Companion to International Law."  Publication is expected in February 2012.  It is expected to come in at 300 pages with a list price of only $45.00.  That's my kind of book.  There is an impressive list of contributing authors as well.

(mew)

New Books Noted -- International Dispute Settlement

Cambridge University Press has published a new book on International Dispute Settlement by J.G. Merrills.  List price is $65.00.  ISBN is 978-0-521-15339-3

(mew)

Books We Like: Essays in Honor of Judge Bruno Simma

I remember standing on a street corner in The Hague, waiting for a tram.  I happened to look over at another man who was also waiting for a tram . . . it happened to be Judge Bruno Simma of the International Court of Justice.  You just never know who you're going to run into on a tram line in the Netherlands.

But now I have just received an extraordinary book honoring that same man on his 70th birthday.  Published by the good people of Oxford University Press, this magnificent tribute to Judge Simma is more than 1300 pages long.  Its contibutors include international law professors, judges, and practitioners.  It has a useful index, something often omitted in works like this.  It is carefully edited and beautifully presented.  And it has an unfortunate title:  "From Bilaterialism to Community Interest."  OK, we know that all titles can't be perfect (and this one isn't), but that unfortunate title is saved by the line underneath it:  "Essays in Honour of Judge Bruno Simma."  The cover is an attractive painting by Monet -- a sailboat upon still waters.  It is perhaps a metaphor for the extraordinary career of Judge Simma, whose decisions and leadership on the court are so appreciated.

It will take us some time to get through this entire volume, but it is indeed a gem and a fitting tribute to an extraordinary man.  Click here for more information about the book (and how to order it for your library).

Mark E. Wojcik (mew)

Books We Like: A Guide to International Law Careers

The British Institute of International and Comparative Law has a new book on careers in international law, authored by Professors Christopher Waters (Associate Dean at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law, Canada) and Anneke Smit (a visiting professor at Windsor, previously at the University of Reading and legal counsel of the Canadian Department of Justice).  A Guide to International Law Careers is a book that students will devour.  At 53 pages for the main text (plus some helpful appendices), the book is an easy read with clearly written, targeted advice for students who want to "do something" with the international law they've learned in the classroom. 

The format of the book is as good as its substantive content.  It is organized around common questions that students will have about entering the field of international law and it is sprinkled with additional advice from various "real world" practitioners of international law.

The informative appendices cover three areas of particular interest to students:

• internships with international organizations, courts, and non-governmental organizations;
• short courses in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Commonwealth, and other countries around the world; and
• masters' courses in international law around the world.

I'm in complete agreement with Robert McCorquodale, who wrote that this book is "a wonderful resource for all those who are thinking about a career (or career change) in international law, for those who are passionate about international law and for those who want to change the world."

For more information about how to order a copy of the book, click here. 

Hat tip to Christopher Waters, who sent me a copy of the book.

(mew)

 

New Casebook on French Constitutional Law

Carolina Academic Press, one of our favorite publishers (because of the high quality and still affordable prices for their books) has just released French Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials by Martin A. Rogoff.  Here's a blurb about the book from their website:  

French Constitutional Lawincludes extracts from decisions of the Constitutional Council and Council of State, significant laws, important reports, and a variety of French legal writings (many translated into English for the first time). These materials are accompanied by commentary, notes, and readings from secondary sources, including a generous sampling of extracts from historical and philosophical texts, to permit an understanding of the French constitutional system in context. The aim of the book is to present French constitutional law from a French perspective—to understand how the French think about constitutional law and its practice. Dynamics of constitutional evolution in France are stressed, and special attention is devoted to the extensive and significant constitutional amendments of July 2008. The book deals in depth with the following matters: separation of powers and the structure and functioning of government, the evolution and practice of judicial review by the Constitutional Council, the role of the Council of State in the French constitutional system, sources of French constitutional law and their interpretation, the Republican tradition (liberty and human rights, democracy and national sovereignty, secularism, equality, social solidarity, and the indivisibility of the Republic), and the application of supranational law (international law, European Union law, and European human rights law) in the French constitutional system. This book is well suited for use in law school, as the materials are structured to provide the basis for class discussion of legal issues. It is also well suited for use in undergraduate and graduate courses in French, European, or comparative politics or history.

Hat tip to Malick Ghachem (University of Maine School of Law)

And hey, if you're still reading this post you must be interested in France.  Click here for information about an interdisciplinary conference next year (and an upcoming deadline for the call for proposals)

(mew)

Books We Like: A New Edition of the China Law Deskbook

One of the best and most authoritative guides to law and legal developments is The China Law Deskbook, published by the American Bar Association Section of International Law.  The book has now been published in a third edition.  As with the earlier editions, the book has earned its name as a deskbook -- it is an essential reference guide that you will want to keep near you if you do any work with the People's Republic of China.  The author is James Zimmerman, a China law expert.

The book covers significant legal developments adopted by the Chinese government in a number of areas including the new Chinese tort law, property rights law, anti-monopoly law, labor contract law, enterprise income tax law, enterprise bankruptcy law, and other laws that impact foreign investment and trade with China.

The book has grown in size and this third edition is now in two volumes.  The set is organized by broad topic categories, including:

• Corporate organizational structure
• Industry-specific regulatory matters
• Tax issues
• Labor and employment
• Financial regulation
• Contracts
• Liquidation and bankruptcy
• Customs and the importation process
• Intellectual property protection
• Land use
• Protection of the environment and natural resources
• Mediation and arbitration
• Litigation
• Special rules for zones and administrative regions

Click here to see sample contracts, documents, and other materials from the book.

Click here for information on how to order a copy for you or your law library from the American Bar Association.

(mew)

Wow. The SUPPLEMENT is 1,137 pages long.

A new brochure from Foundation Press tells me that there's a new supplement availalbe for "The International Legal System" by Mary Ellen O'Connell (Notre Dame), Richard F. Scott (Thomas Jefferson), and Naomi Roht-Arriaza (Hastings College of Law).

The supplement is 1,137 pages long.  Wow.

Contact Foundation Press for more information.  The ISBN is 978-1-59941-184-2.

(mew)

A New Book Studies the ICJ Decision on Israel's Security Fence

From time to time we receive news of new books that may be of possible interest to some of our blog readers.  In that longstanding tradition, Solon Solomon has sent us news of his new book, "The Justiciability of International Disputes: The Advisory Opinion on Israel's Security Fence as a Case Study"

The book is a revision of thesis written at Hebrew University under the tutoring of Professor Yuval Shany, The prologue is authored by the Legal Advisor of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. Click here to download a flyer with more information about the book.  Download Israel Fence.

We have not yet seen the book (although we probably will at some point), so we cannot tell you one way or another anything more about it, but if your research interests include the ICJ's Advisory Opinion on the Fence there is probably some useful information in this book for you.

Hat tip to Solon Solomon.

(mew)